Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Meat & Deli Retailer

Meat weathers the economic storm: protein sales are on the upswing as consumer purchasing patterns evolve.

Article Excerpt
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Meat is proving to be a most resilient supermarket sector.

Despite an ailing economy, most consumers are not cutting back on protein purchases.

Meat sales were up 3.5 percent in the aggregate October 2008 through January 2009 timeframe compared to the year-earlier period, reports Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based FreshLook Marketing Group.

Almost 4 billion pounds of meat were sold during that span. Beef sales grew up 3.9 percent, pork sales jumped 3 percent and chicken purchases increased 2.4 percent.

"More people--because they are not eating out as much--are shopping the meat case," says Danette Amstein, principal with Chicago-based Midan Marketing LLC. "All proteins are strong and there is an opportunity for retailers to capitalize by providing consumers with value. Marketing dollars can be used to bring in even more traffic."

Amstein and Merrill Shugoll, president of Bethesda, Md.-based Shugoll Research, discussed consumer trends at the 2009 Annual Meat Conference in Denver in March. The Washington, D.C.-based American Meat Institute (AMI) and Arlington, Va.-based Food Marketing Institute (FMI) were conference co-sponsors.

The meat department is benefiting from changing shopper buying habits.

Consumers during the October 2008 to January 2009 timeframe increased their purchases of bone-in chicken breast by 12 percent versus the year-earlier period, FreshLook reports....

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!